The Blackhawks are back in the Stanley Cup Playoffs for the first time since 2017 and will face a team they’ve never met in the postseason: the Golden Knights.
Chicago, the No. 12 seed in the Western Conference, defeated the No. 5 Oilers in four games during the Stanley Cup Qualifiers. Vegas, meanwhile, won all three of its round-robin games — as one of the West’s top four regular-season teams — to claim the top seed for the playoffs.
The Blackhawks are now the No. 8 seed in the playoffs for the first time since 2011 when they fell to the top-seeded Canucks in seven games. Vancouver won the West, but then fell in seven games to the Bruins in the Stanley Cup Final.